Ghias

Beetle, Karmann Ghia, Thing.

Moderators: Sluggo, Amskeptic

User avatar
ruckman101
Lord God King Bwana
Location: Up next to a volcano.
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Ghia's

Post by ruckman101 » Wed Aug 08, 2012 11:48 pm

Ran it gentle in the heat, maybe it isn't good breaking in weather. It's what I got. It was just short of a 200 mile run round trip, town, freeway, country, naturally inconsistent anyway. Going to change the oil and declare her a driver and begin doing so.


neal
The slipper has no teeth.

User avatar
Bleyseng
IAC Addict!
Location: Seattle again
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Ghia's

Post by Bleyseng » Tue Jul 02, 2013 8:50 am

On my 70 Ghia, I spent most of the day pulling the gas tank to install a new master cylinder and clean up that area. Found the steering box cover almost falling off so pulled that and cleaned up the steering box, re-installed everything and adjusted the play. Wow, much better. Put speedbleeders in the calipers and bled those and the rears. Nice tight petal but this morning it was soft again, shit. Must have a leak somewhere besides the MC, probably a rusty line from the front to the back but I haven't found any wet spots......
I will powerwash the bottom of the car to clean everything so I can spot any wet spots when its dry. I guess its time to install that carpet set after pulling the interior to poke around looking for a leaking line...
Sure drives nice now on the freeway putting along at 70 is no problem. Gonna stick the O2 sensor up its tailpipe to see what the AFR is as far as I can tell its got all OEM parts and pieces on the engine. The case is a "B" replacement case with the mounting points for a early bay engine.

One day I am going to have figure out the horn as its never worked but I suspect its due to the wrong steering wheel so the contacts are fubared.
Geoff
77 Sage Green Westy- CS 2.0L-160,000 miles
70 Ghia vert, black, stock 1600SP,- 139,000 miles,
76 914 2.1L-Nepal Orange- 160,000+ miles
http://bleysengaway.blogspot.com/

User avatar
Bleyseng
IAC Addict!
Location: Seattle again
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Ghia's

Post by Bleyseng » Fri Jul 05, 2013 6:34 pm

WWCD!
I spent the day ripping out the interior of the Ghia to find a rusty brake line under the petals. Duh! Soaking wet feet from the Seattle rain had worked its magic thru the carpet rusting out the line. Well, this is not a fun job trying to first remove the line trying to keep the OEM bends in it so I could match it up with the new line. Screw this and just get it out and clean clean the drivers side of brake fluid gunk. New line from the FLAPS which is too long by 6" but still I managed after 8 hrs of trying to make my hands small and elf like to fit into these little spaces to bend and fit the new line back into the fittings and MC.
With the help of Monique, we got the sucker bled and finished. Now for a shower and off to dinner somewhere driving the little bugger with the top down.

Okay, here is a shot of the Ghia and Monique...she loves this car!
Attachments
IMG_2503.jpg
Geoff
77 Sage Green Westy- CS 2.0L-160,000 miles
70 Ghia vert, black, stock 1600SP,- 139,000 miles,
76 914 2.1L-Nepal Orange- 160,000+ miles
http://bleysengaway.blogspot.com/

User avatar
Amskeptic
IAC "Help Desk"
IAC "Help Desk"
Status: Offline

Re: Ghia's

Post by Amskeptic » Fri Jul 05, 2013 10:13 pm

That is what it is about . . . a hard day's work richly rewarded.
Colin

:colin7:
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

User avatar
Bleyseng
IAC Addict!
Location: Seattle again
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Ghia's

Post by Bleyseng » Fri Jul 19, 2013 11:47 am

Mission Accomplished!!!! The Ghia runs and works like it should. Replaced the master cylinder and finally got the brake lights to work correctly due to the f'd up wiring. Then the turn signals don't work, ok, clean off every wire since they are painted BLACK! Trace the hole damn fuse box wiring down....4 days later I got the wiring sorted out just like the Factory wiring diagram and installed the new headlight switch. ( Gawd, my hands are too big to get into the dash wiring!!!! Now I have a million little cuts on my hands)
Every thing works except the stupid horn which is completely fubar'd due to missing parts deep inside and its another nightmare to delve into on a rainy day.

Time to drive around with the top down getting 30mpg and enjoy the 80F.
Oh, BTW The Ghia is now going to be the car Monique's daughter drives off in at the wedding next Friday. I hope the groom knows how to drive a stick! So all week I have been hearing that " The Ghia better be ready for the wedding".
Geoff
77 Sage Green Westy- CS 2.0L-160,000 miles
70 Ghia vert, black, stock 1600SP,- 139,000 miles,
76 914 2.1L-Nepal Orange- 160,000+ miles
http://bleysengaway.blogspot.com/

User avatar
Amskeptic
IAC "Help Desk"
IAC "Help Desk"
Status: Offline

Re: Ghia's

Post by Amskeptic » Tue Jul 23, 2013 1:13 am

Bleyseng wrote:The Ghia is now going to be the car Monique's daughter drives off in at the wedding next Friday.

I hope the groom knows how to drive a stick!

So all week I have been hearing that " The Ghia better be ready for the wedding".
Worthy of a crisp reply:
"The groom had better be able to drive it. Weddings are but a day. Father's-in-law memory is forever."
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

User avatar
Bleyseng
IAC Addict!
Location: Seattle again
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Ghia's

Post by Bleyseng » Tue Jul 23, 2013 7:36 am

It's running great now just in time.
First wave of relatives came in town with three little kids (7,8 and 10). Monique spent the day as tour guide and the kids took turns riding in the Ghia with the top down. The Hit of the Day was taking them all to our friend's Fortune Cookie factory in Chinatown. They came back with a huge bag of mis-fortunes cookies.

I spend the day repairing the sewer line with the Groom at the other house. It was only 8 ft down! but at 9PM I had it fixed and mostly backfilled. This morning I feel like I was in a street fight, argh, time for a massage.

Over the weekend I picked up some cheap needed parts at the big Summer VW Car show and Swap meet. Now I can fix the passenger's seat and work on fixing the horn.
Geoff
77 Sage Green Westy- CS 2.0L-160,000 miles
70 Ghia vert, black, stock 1600SP,- 139,000 miles,
76 914 2.1L-Nepal Orange- 160,000+ miles
http://bleysengaway.blogspot.com/

User avatar
Bleyseng
IAC Addict!
Location: Seattle again
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Ghias

Post by Bleyseng » Sat Jul 27, 2013 11:24 pm

Wedding photo
Attachments
Ghia.jpg
Geoff
77 Sage Green Westy- CS 2.0L-160,000 miles
70 Ghia vert, black, stock 1600SP,- 139,000 miles,
76 914 2.1L-Nepal Orange- 160,000+ miles
http://bleysengaway.blogspot.com/

User avatar
Amskeptic
IAC "Help Desk"
IAC "Help Desk"
Status: Offline

Re: Ghias

Post by Amskeptic » Tue Jul 30, 2013 10:58 am

Bleyseng wrote:Wedding photo
Nice shot, very vintage-looking carefree . . .
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

User avatar
Bleyseng
IAC Addict!
Location: Seattle again
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Ghias

Post by Bleyseng » Tue Jul 30, 2013 11:00 pm

It was really fun and a special moment especially since they were just going around the corner and never came back. We all stood there waiting for 10 minutes thinking what the heck is going on....The groom didn't know how to put it in reverse until a guy walked by and said " Push down and over for reverse"....
Geoff
77 Sage Green Westy- CS 2.0L-160,000 miles
70 Ghia vert, black, stock 1600SP,- 139,000 miles,
76 914 2.1L-Nepal Orange- 160,000+ miles
http://bleysengaway.blogspot.com/

User avatar
Amskeptic
IAC "Help Desk"
IAC "Help Desk"
Status: Offline

Re: Ghias

Post by Amskeptic » Sat Aug 03, 2013 5:44 am

Bleyseng wrote:It was really fun and a special moment especially since they were just going around the corner and never came back. We all stood there waiting for 10 minutes thinking what the heck is going on....The groom didn't know how to put it in reverse until a guy walked by and said " Push down and over for reverse"....
=D> Bride should take note . . .
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

User avatar
Bleyseng
IAC Addict!
Location: Seattle again
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Ghias

Post by Bleyseng » Tue Aug 27, 2013 12:28 pm

Haha, the "Bride" can't drive a stick come hell or highwater....

Finally had time this morning (had out of town guests all weekend) to attack the Ghia's last problems.
1. Passenger low beam doesn't work- 2 sec fix as the wire came off the fusebox connector...
2. Brake lights stay on- readjusted everything at the pedal to reset the rod and brake pedal so they work correctly.
3. Dies if it tries to idle- idle shutoff jet was falling out as it looks like someone tightened it with (WTF) pliers. Took off the top of the carb (still the OEM German one, nice) and cleaned up everything and installed the jet and now idles like a kitten. Maybe now it won't pop, pop on decel too.
4. Checked gas tank hoses- Has had gas fumes whenever you fill up in the cabin which makes Monique sick (hell, me too) so I think I have finally solved that problem..
5. Last week I installed a new braided accellerator cable and it works great as I have full throttle finally. Lots of power to drive on the Freeway at 70 mph from the 1600SP.
Geoff
77 Sage Green Westy- CS 2.0L-160,000 miles
70 Ghia vert, black, stock 1600SP,- 139,000 miles,
76 914 2.1L-Nepal Orange- 160,000+ miles
http://bleysengaway.blogspot.com/

User avatar
Amskeptic
IAC "Help Desk"
IAC "Help Desk"
Status: Offline

Re: Ghias

Post by Amskeptic » Wed Aug 28, 2013 5:31 am

Bleyseng wrote:Lots of power to drive on the Freeway at 70 mph from the 1600SP.
I love these single port 1600s. I hardly know why. My stable of cars has many fine engines, but this thing just grabs at me.
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

User avatar
sped372
IAC Addict!
Location: Waunakee, WI
Status: Offline

Re: Ghias

Post by sped372 » Wed Aug 28, 2013 6:21 am

I'm with you. It just seems less finicky or something.
1971 Karmann Ghia - 1600 DP
1984 Westfalia - 1.9 WBX

User avatar
Bleyseng
IAC Addict!
Location: Seattle again
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Ghias

Post by Bleyseng » Wed Aug 28, 2013 9:43 am

33 mpg is pretty sweet too....
Geoff
77 Sage Green Westy- CS 2.0L-160,000 miles
70 Ghia vert, black, stock 1600SP,- 139,000 miles,
76 914 2.1L-Nepal Orange- 160,000+ miles
http://bleysengaway.blogspot.com/

Post Reply